Show notes
Brown and unrefined sugar
Brown sugar
When we have a product called brown sugar it is almost certainly white sugar to which some molasses has been added. In the refinement process of sugar they crystallize out the sugar and what is left at the end of the process is the molasses, a dark sticky brown substance.
Light brown sugar
This is golden, soft and clumpy sugar that has a small amount of molasses put back in.
Dark brown sugar
This is much darker, browner and denser. This is richer in flavour and the smell and has had much more molasses put back in.
In baking you need to decide what kind of result you are looking for. Dark brown sugar will give a much chewier results. Refer to what the recipe asks for.
Un-refined sugars or raw sugars
There are a variety of different types of raw or un-refined sugars available.
Muscovado, which is a dark, soft brown sugar, looks similar to dark brown sugar but the difference is that the molasses and plant material has never been taken out.
These are sugars, including demerara, have not been refined so they still contain molasses. This also means that they contains some impurities, plant materials, cell walls and minerals, and for this reason truly raw sugar is not available in some countries. These raw sugars such as jaggary, common in Asian cooking, are often very hard. There is also a cone-shaped sugar from Mexico know also as panela which needs to be grated or melted in order to use.
Substituting sugar types
Q: Can I substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar?
From Angie, United States of America
Gilla does not advise that you substitute ingredients but in an emergency you can. The results will be different; colour, taste and texture all depend on the sugar you use. Brown sugar is slightly acidic, white sugar is not, and therefore in the delicate balance of baking this may affect the leveners and you may end up in with a different result.
Also Gilla would not recommend brown sugar in candy making as the impurities change the various setting points of sugar.
Superfine can be used in place of granulated but the reverse is usually less successful as the fine crystal size means the sugar dissolves very quickly. When using a large crystal sugar it is possible that some of the crystals will remain intact.
Icing/powdered sugar is very fine and it cannot be successfully replaced, unless you wish to grind down caster or granulated sugar.
Sugar and health
This is a podcast essentially about cooking techniques but we would like to mention that there are health related issues with eating excess sugar whether it be for diabetics who should approach sugar with great caution and seek advice from a health professional, or the implication that sugar has in obesity.
Sugar provides energy and little else in terms of nutrients. We should limit the amount of sugar that we eat.
Brown sugar is sometimes recommended as being the healthier option but in reality it still only contains small traces of protein and common minerals, these will all be supplied by other foods in a balanced diet. The main reason to use brown sugar is for the flavour which is more interesting than white.
The key is moderation.
Sugar shoud be eaten in moderation as part of healthy diet.
Why do we love sugar and sweet things so much?
Mother’s milk is sweet so this is one of our first taste sensations. It is possible that this first instinct stays with us.
Sugar in savoury cooking
Sugar is an important element in proving the sweet taste.
On the tongue we can identify 5 tastes; sweet, sour, salty, bitter; umami (the meaty sensation). Sugar in savoury cooking can add the rounded balance of taste. It is very commonly used in Asian cooking. You will find some popular recipes in the right hand column of this website.
Candy making
This is the process of melting sugar and water in a heavy pan but not taking the temperature high enough to caramelise the sugar. If you are making candy it is a good idea to have a candy/sugar thermometer. On it will be marked soft ball, hard ball and soft and hard crack, the 4 stages, created by an increase in sugar temperature.
If you do not have this type of thermometer there are some other tests that you can do to reach the correct heating and setting point. Take a small amount of the syrup, from the hot pan, at each stage in the heating process and place the in a jug of cold water. The following observations will determine whether you have reached the correct level or whether you need to keep heating:
Soft ball – syrup falls to the bottom of the water.
It will not hold its shape. This is the stage used for fudge.
Hard ball – drop small amount of syrup into water.
The ball will hold its shape and will be harder. This would be used for butterscotch.
Soft crack – drop syrup into water, there will be a quiet crack as it hits the water. The syrup will form chewy strands. This is the stage used for soft toffee.
Hard crack - drop syrup into water, there will be a loud crack as it hits the water. This will cause be brittle strands and can be used for hard toffee.
What can you do about brown sugar gone hard?
The molasses in brown sugar tends to encourage the absorption of water which can then make the sugar go hard. Try to store in airtight containers. If it does go hard then you can restore it by microwaving or covering for 30 minutes with damp cloth.
Reducing the amount of sugar in baking
This is a complex subject but Gilla would encourage cutting back on the portion size of sweet foods rather than use substitutes - take a small piece of cake that contains sugar rather than a large slice that has been made with a substitute.
In some recipes you can replace sugar for fruit, fruit juice and artificial sweeteners. You need to use recipes that have been specially adapted for this use – but be guided by the products that you are using.
Gillas’ advice would be to have just a small slice of somthing sweet, now and again, as part of a varied diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables and lots of exercise.
Our next podcast will be about Flour.
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